6” recessed fixtures are very dated.

Thanks for the comment, but was looking more for which size will give the best light and/or quantity and placement for my size kitchen. I'm not concerned with what society says is "in" because that changes every few years and I don't plan on ever redoing the kitchen after this.

Usually people want to replace 6" with 4" because they do not like the "huge" size. Either can work according your preference, but at minimum the size of the room, spacing of lights, and use of the room should determine the luminaire chosen.

In a kitchen the lighting should be based on the layout of the room - cabinets, doorways, windows, islands, circulation. They should be placed strategically, not a uniform grid pattern centered in the overall room perimeter (which assuming the latter is what the electrician recommended).

Just a guess without visuals, but a 11'x10' kitchen with a grid of (6) 6" lights is too much where you don't need it, and too little where you do. Unless you want to perform surgery on the floor and not see within your shadow on the counters.

Get the 4" dimmable lights. Six inch models look terrible. The Commercial Electric 53827101 emits 650 lumens (typical) but the Lithonia 264T2W is brighter at 800 lumens. My kitchen lights have a color temperature of 3500K but many people prefer 4000K. Be sure to connect them to a dimmer.

I just installed wafer lights in my "new" 1939 home. These were made by Lithonia Lighting, with selectable color temperature, and only about 1" thick. They are amazing. People need to understand these are not recessed lights -- they sit flush with the ceiling so they will spread light wider than a typical recessed light the same size. It also means you'll get more glare (if you're the type that stares at the ceiling).

In two bedrooms larger than your kitchen six 4" lights in each were plenty bright (my girlfriend complained they were too bright after only three were installed!) -- and they definitely will get a dimmer. In a stairwell I was prepared to put in three 6" wafer lights and after installing one we realized it is plenty of light.

So the wafer LED lights are very bright, have good light spread, and are dimmable. I bought mine on Amazon for about $22 each.

As someone pointed out kitchen lighting is different. You don't want a simple grid like your builder wants to install. The light should be over your prep areas and placed where they won't throw shadows on what you are prepping, so you need to consider this carefully. It's easy to dim lights but harder to add more or move them. Hopefully you will have undercabinet lighting as well..

I put 4" led lights in a good size kitchen with 10' ceiling, they are so much brighter than my old 6" lights were.

How many did you use? and for what size kitchen?

Joe, my kitchen is roughly 20' x 22' and open to a large family room in one end, and a dining room in the other end. In this space I have around 17 cans...we have a tray ceiling (9' and 10') so I have layered lighting, as well as under cabinet lighting...some surround the kitchen in the tray, some are directly above the island, some inside the reach in pantry. I just added 2 pendants today but they are for looks, and don't really provide any usable light. Family room has another 7 cans, and a large chandelier. I use 4000k LED bulbs in everything for their bright natural light. If I have all the cans on at the same time, I could probably do surgery in the kitchen ;)

Thanks, your kitchen is exactly twice the size of mine and I was leaning towards 8 4" wafers (half of yours). The contractor recommended 6 in straight lines, but I'm thinking I need two more strategically placed. In my head, I'm thinking they'll make more of an oval shape, rather than looking like a landing strip. Thanks for your comment!

I have a 7-1/2' x 7-1/2' kitchen with four 780 lumen, 3500K recessed lights arrange in a simple rectangle. That is plenty. I really think eight lights would be overkill.